IT service management
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
IT service management (ITSM) refers to the entirety of activities – directed by policies, organized
and structured in processes and supporting procedures – that are performed by an organization to
design, plan, deliver, operate and control information technology (IT) services offered to
customers.[1] It is thus concerned with the implementation of IT services that meet customers' needs,
and it is performed by the IT service provider through an appropriate mix of people, process and
information technology.[2]
Differing from more technology-oriented IT management approaches like network
management and IT systems management, IT service management is characterized by adopting
a process approach towards management, focusing on customer needs and IT services for
customers rather than IT systems, and stressing continual improvement. The CIO WaterCoolers'
annual ITSM report states that business use ITSM "mostly in support of customer experience (35%)
and service quality (48%)."[3]
Context[edit]
Relationships between ITSM frameworks and other management standards
As a discipline, ITSM has ties and common interests with other IT and general management
approaches, e.g., quality management, information security management and software engineering.
Consequently, IT service management frameworks have been influenced by other standards and
adopted concepts from them, e.g. CMMI, ISO 9000 or ISO/IEC 27000.[4]
Professional organizations[edit]
There are international, chapter-based professional associations, such as the IT Service
Management Forum (itSMF), and HDI. The main goal of the these organizations is to foster the
exchange of experiences and ideas between users of ITSM frameworks. To this end, national and
local itSMF and HDI chapters (LIGs or local interest groups for itSMF) organize conferences and
workshops. Some of them also contribute to the translations of ITSM framework documents into their
respective languages or publish own ITSM guides. There are several certifications for service
management like ITIL foundation 2011.
Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)[edit]
Main article: ITIL
IT service management is often equated with the Information Technology Infrastructure
Library (ITIL), even though there are a variety of standards and frameworks contributing to the
overall ITSM discipline.[5] ITIL originated as an official publication of United Kingdom government
agencies (first CCTA, later OGC, then the Cabinet Office). In January 2014, ownership of ITIL was
transferred to Axelos, a joint venture of the UK government and Capita, an international business
process outsourcing and professional services company.
The current version of the ITIL framework is the 2011 edition. The 2011 edition, published in July
2011, is a revision of the previous edition known as ITIL version 3 (published in June 2007). ITIL
version 3 was a major upgrade from version 2 (2001). Whereas version 2 was process-oriented (split
into two groups: service support and service delivery), version 3 is service-orientated. Since ITIL V3,
the various ITIL processes are grouped into five stages of the service lifecycle: service strategy,
service design, service transition, service operation and continual service improvement.
Other frameworks[edit]
Other frameworks for ITSM and overlapping disciplines include
Business Process Framework (eTOM) is a process framework for telecommunications service
providers.
COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies) is an IT Governance
framework that specifies control objectives, metrics and maturity models. Recent versions have
aligned the naming of select control objectives to established ITSM process names.
FitSM[6] is a standard for lightweight service management. It contains several parts, including
e.g. auditable requirements and document templates, which are published under Creative
Common licenses. Its basic process framework is in large parts aligned to that of ISO/IEC
20000.
ISO/IEC 20000 is an international standard for managing and delivering IT services. Its process
model bears many similarities to that of ITIL version 2, since BS 15000 (precursor of ISO/IEC
20000) and ITIL were mutually aligned up to version 2 of ITIL. ISO/IEC 20000 defines minimum
requirements for an effective "service management system" (SMS). Conformance of the SMS to
ISO/IEC can be audited and organizations can achieve an ISO/IEC 20000 certification of their
SMS for a defined scope.
MOF[7] (Microsoft Operations Framework) includes, in addition to a general framework of service
management functions, guidance on managing services based on Microsoft technologies.
Tools[edit]
Execution of ITSM processes in an organization, especially those processes that are more workflow-
driven ones, can benefit significantly from being supported with specialized software tools.[8]
ITSM tools are often marketed as ITSM suites, which support not one, but a whole set of ITSM
processes. At their core is usually a workflow management system for handling incidents, service
requests, problems and changes. They usually also include a tool for a configuration management
database. The ability of these suites to enable easy linking between incident, service request,
problem and change records with each other and with records of configuration items from the
CMDB, can be a great advantage.
ITSM tools are also commonly referred to as ITIL tools. More than 100 tools are self-proclaimed
ITSM or ITIL tools.[9] Software vendors such as Axios Systems and Marval (software), whose ITSM
tools fulfill defined functional requirements to support a set of ITIL processes, can obtain official
approval, allowing them to use Axelos trade marks and an "ITIL process compliant" logo, under
Axelos' ITIL Software Endorsement scheme.[10]
Service Desk[edit]
A Service Desk is a primary IT function within the discipline of IT service management (ITSM) as
defined by the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL).[11] It is intended to provide a
Single Point of Contact ("SPOC") to meet the communication needs of both users and IT staff,[12] and
also to satisfy both Customer and IT Provider objectives. "User" refers to the actual user of the
service, while "Customer" refers to the entity that is paying for service.
The ITIL approach considers the service desk to be the central point of contact between service
providers and users/customers on a day-to-day basis. It is also a focal point for
reporting incidents (disruptions or potential disruptions in service availability or quality) and for users
making service requests (routine requests for services).[13]
ITIL regards a call centre, contact centre or a help desk as limited kinds of service desk which
provide only a portion of what a service desk can offer. A service desk has a more broad and user-
centered approach which is designed to provide the user with an informed single point of contact for
all IT requirements. A service desk seeks to facilitate the integration of business processes into the
service management infrastructure. In addition to actively monitoring and owning Incidents and user
questions, and providing the communications channel for other service management disciplines with
the user community, a service desk also provides an interface for other activities such as customer
change requests, third parties (e.g. maintenance contracts), and software licensing.[13]
